Buyers can be pokey, and that’s just fine

They say they don’t like to waste their broker’s time. After all, they add, they are in no hurry to make an offer and they are not even sure what neighborhood they prefer.

I always respond by saying that the purchase of real estate is a process, usually a long one. Being part of it is a broker’s job.

Once buyers have spoken to lenders, they need to start by striving toward two primary goals.

The first goal is to discover beyond the photos and descriptions in listing what their dollars can buy — that is, the housing market — and what, therefore, compromises they might have to make. Related to that information, homebuyers at the outset have to start focusing on the right neighborhood for them.

The process easily can take months or even years, and it is a journey that any decent broker should be willing to take with his or her customers or clients.

In my view, an essential component of brokers’ mission is to help homebuyers learn the market and refine the choices that they have to make. By providing vital neighborhood information as well as analysis of why one property has a higher or lower asking price than others, brokers can make the home search more reasoned and efficient.

A home not only takes a big chunk out of almost everyone’s income and savings, but a home has meaning. There’s a reason I never considered selling anything else for a living.

If it some buyers have to conduct their search at a snail’s pace until they find a property that excites them within their price range, that’s just fine with me. What purchase could be more important?